


Tailgate's Sparkling

by Semi_Weird_Shipper



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Falling In Love, Feeding, Fights, Fluffy, Friendship/Love, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Transformers Sparklings, implied depression, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-01-06 10:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18386705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semi_Weird_Shipper/pseuds/Semi_Weird_Shipper
Summary: After Brainstorm's invention blew up, nobody could find their captain Rodimus Prime. And Tailgate made a new, secret friend and well... became a mom.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm tired of writing angst and decided to make something simple and sweet. Hope viewers don't mind!
> 
> As always, warnings are in the TAGS in case viewers didn't know. Helpful criticism and comments are appreciated and accepted. I hope everyone enjoys reading!

"Tailgate, I'm not quite sure how to tell you this."

"You don't have to. I can hear it in your voice."

"Tailgate..."

"So... There's really nothing we can do?"

Ratchet wasn't by any means sympathetic to his more small minded patients especially ones such as Whirl and Swerve, but he always cared about them. He just didn't show it openly. However, he couldn't help but to frown at his current patient.

"Nothing," he was tempted to lie just to see the minibot's optics light up in a smile, but Ratchet knew that false hope wasn't going to get him anywhere, "Your frame was only built for... well... disposal. That and your age are defective for carrying sparklings."

Tailgate's legs hung off the edge of the medical berth, his arms limp at his sides as he looked away, head bowing. It was a sight that pulled at the wires in the old medic's spark. Those little sad optics seemed so hopeless and sad.

"I'm..." Ratchet's fingers curled a few times before hesitantly resting on the minibot's shoulder, "I'm sorry."

Tailgate shrugged in response, sighing. "It's okay," he looked up at the medic and braced his servos on the edge of the berth, preparing to hop off, "Thanks for looking though."

As Tailgate hopped off the berth and began walking away, helm lowered and feet sagging, Ratchet couldn't help but to feel pity. "Hey... Tailgate?" he asked.

Tailgate stopped shy of the door, looking back at the medic and moving his shoulder as an implication that he was listening.

"Why exactly did you want to know?" Ratchet asked, optic brow raising in curiosity.

Tailgate looked at the ground, "I just wanted to see what all I could do... Guess this is one more thing I can cross off the list, huh?"

Ratchet thinned his lips out and nodded, feeling sorry for the little bot.

Tailgate parted with a small smile and exited the doors. From there, he looked both ways down the hall before busting out into a full sprint to get to his room, avoiding anyone who crossed his path on his way.

Everyone was on full time duty trying to find their missing captain after the big lab incident with Brainstorm and Perceptor. Tailgate pretended to help search for him, but right now he had other priorities to attend.

Rushing to his door, Tailgate's fingers stuttered to type in the code. Once he was inside, he was surprised to see that Cyclonus was there. "Oh, Cyclonus! I didn't think you'd be here this early, what... what a surprise! I was just uh... well I was talking with Ratchet and..."

Tailgate nervously tapped his digits together, knowing deep down that the purple mech didn't care about him. Heck, he wasn't even facing him, just standing in front of the window in stillness Tailgate knew he'd never be able to master. But still he talked.

Arms slumped, Tailgate said softly, "I found out that I can't have sparklings... Something to do with my altmode and age and... And yeah."

Looking up, Tailgate pushed away the hurt from seeing that Cyclonus hadn't even lifted his helm. Lowering his own, Tailgate drug his ped across the ground, "I don't mind though. I-I mean it's not like there's anyone out there to _get_ me sparked, you know?"

Just as expected, Cyclonus turned away from the window without sparing Tailgate so much as a glance as he walked to the door.

"I guess I'll see you later then. Yeah?" Tailgate waved but stopped when Cyclonus opened the door, mumbling to himself, "And he's not listening to me. Ok."

Once the door shut, Tailgate waited a minute for someone else to walk in before deciding that he was fine. Snapping his fingers, he ran over to the closet and opened up the door, immediately kneeling to his left. Thankfully Cyclonus was gone pretty much all the time and had no clue that they had a closet.

Moving a couple boxes to the side, Tailgate was greeted with a small yawn and the sweetest little chirp. "Awhhh... mommy?"

"Hey, little guy," Tailgate whispered while getting to his knees, his optics plus the sparklings lighting up the small area of the closet. He had set up a few blankets and soft padding down for the little guy and hoped that it would be good enough for him to get some recharge while he was gone for the day (a few hours really), "Did you recharge well?"

The little orange and red sparkling sat up and lifted his arms, pouting slightly, "I miss you... I don' like it here alone."

Tailgate whimpered and picked the sparkling up, his spark melting as he held him against his chest, feeling his little tiny arms wrapping around his neck. He vented out, taking time to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

"I know, little guy," he whispered, stroking the sparkling's helm, "Just a little bit longer, ok? I promise."

"Ok mommy," the sparkling's soft, slightly upset voice murmured.

Tailgate didn't know the Cybertronian terms for parenting sparklings, so he just went by what he had learned from Ratchet. Mothers were the males, right? And fathers were the females? At least Tailgate had it narrowed down to that conclusion since 'father' and 'female' both started with the same letter, as well as 'male' and 'mother'.

Oh well, either way it didn't matter. It wasn't like Tailgate was any different male than he was female, or any mech at that matter. But he was an invalid. And because he was an invalid, he had to do this.

"Hungry?" Tailgate asked and looked down at those adorable blue optics.

The sparkling smiled, "Pwease?"

Optics squinting in a smile, Tailgate picked baby Rodimus up in his arms and moved himself to sit back against the wall, grabbing a pillow and setting it in his lap before laying the sparkling on it. From there he opened a small section of his chest plate and pulled out the small tube there. It was only a couple inches long but was the key to all his filtered energon.

Rodimus awed in delight and sat up, hugging his mommy's chassis and taking the little tube into his mouth, immediately suckling.

Tailgate sighed in peace and relaxed against the wall, optics watering up. He couldn't have sparklings. If he could then he would turn Rodimus in so that everybody could take a break and quit searching for him. But it was too hard at this point.

It was that very day when the ship shook after a big explosive went off. Tailgate was in recharge when it happened, but was woken up by all the commotion. After exiting his room, he saw no one except a baby Rodimus crying and wandering around all alone and lost.

It was in that moment, when Rodimus saw Tailgate and immediately stopped crying, running to him and hugging him like he was the last thing that was real, that Tailgate instantly became attached.

And so he hid baby Rodimus away, spent hours playing and talking to him, giving him fake kisses and feeding him filtered energon. Baby Rodimus was so sweet and timid compared to the rude, arrogant glitch adult Rodimus was. And Tailgate, for the first time ever, found himself feeling... important and needed. Loved.

Holding the sparkling close, Tailgate knew that what he was doing was wrong. He knew that he should just turn Rodimus in so that Ratchet and Brainstorm could fix him, but he just _couldn't_. No one knew that Rodimus was a sparkling and instead just labeled him off as missing.

Listening to the soft suckles and low hums of his sparkling, Tailgate stroked his helm and patted his back. "I love you, Roddy... I love you so much," he whispered, feeling his spark swelling up.

Rodimus mumbled against his chest, "Lowv you too, mommy."

"I thought you said you were unable to have sparklings..."

Tailgate nearly jumped at the shadow looming in from the closet and mentally cursed himself for not closing it. "Cy-Cyclonus!" he squeaked, trying to come up with a... _Explanation?_

Oh, he was so fragged.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2. Please read and review.

Rodimus pulled away from his energon tube and looked up at the purple stranger, his bright blue optics flashing in surprise until he saw the rather foreboding frown set upon those frighteningly cold face plates. "Momma, monster!" he cried and hugged his mommy, burying himself as much as he could into the warm and safe chassis.

Tailgate quickly wrapped his arms around him, trying to hide him against his frame, shushing his soft whimpers. "No, no, it's okay! It's okay, he's not a monster, he won't hurt you," he patted the bots helm, "He's just a friend of mine. He won't hurt you."

Cyclonus crossed his arms. Tailgate made the meek impression of gulping.

"Cyclonus, I-I can explain!" he tried to suppress a desperate squeak from exiting his mouth, "I was going to tell you, e-eventually! But I _uhh_.... I was just kind of worried about what you would say a-and what everyone else would say, and I~"

"Tailgate," Cyclonus' rough, demanding tone made the small sparkling flinch, and he pointed offensively down at it with a sharp claw, "Is that _Rodimus Prime?"_

"Rodimus? No! O-or I mean yes, but... But he's not the same! See?" Tailgate attempted to shield the sparkling beneath his arms, stroking his back to comfort him from the supposedly scary situation, "I found him like this before I knew that he was even suppose to be missing, a-and he just ran to me and started.... started calling me his carrier... So I kept him..."

Cyclonus' claw retracted and his arms hung lifelessly by his sides. The look on his face beyond a calming promise. Tailgate had seen the many cold faces of Cyclonus; Angry, sad, guilty, ignorant and apathetic. But never before had he seen such a look of complete and utter... _Disappointment_.

It was enough to make Tailgate shrink, "Cyclonus, please don't tell anyone, if they find out then they'll take Rodimus away, and after what I just learned, I-I don't think I could live with myself! Please, Cyclonus, please, I've never..." Tailgate paused and looked away, optics watering beneath his visor, "I've never felt this way before."

Well technically he had felt this way before when Cyclonus saved him. But no matter how much he attempted to thank him, show him affection and try to impress him, Cyclonus never heeded him any recognition or gratitude in return. He was always ignoring him, giving him those cold glares and occasionally snapping at him with spark wrenching comments.

But Rodimus... Rodimus made him feel special, made him feel loved and wanted and appreciated. It went deeper than that even. For once, Tailgate felt needed, felt important and proud; not like some useless, no good, uneducated minibot.

"Please, Cyclonus," he pleaded, "Please don't let them take him away."

The look Cyclonus continued to silently beat him down with had Tailgate shifting uneasily. His spark pounded beneath his chassis and strained in panic as he held the sparkling closer. Rodimus shook slightly in his arms, hicupping lightly as he held onto his middle. Tailgate begged to Optimus Prime or whatever powerful ruler was out there that no one take his baby away. No one take away what he always needed.

An opportunity.

It was swift and unexpected, but Cyclonus turned around and walked to the door, leaving quicker than Tailgate could shout out an alarmed, "Cyclonus, no, n-no wait!"

But it was too late.

The door shut quietly, and Tailgate found himself slumping against the wall, his optics wide and full of apprehension. This couldn't be happening, not now! Not while things were finally beginning to go so well for him! What would Cyclonus do? What would he say? What would _everyone_ else do?

"Momma?" two big, baby blue optics looked up at him as tiny servos touched his chassis, "Momma, okay?"

Tailgate sucked in his fear as best he could and nodded his head, trying to keep from audibly sniffing. "Y-yeah, of course, Roddy," he reached up and cupped the back of his little helm, rubbing it softly, "Mommas fine... Just a little bit excited is all."

"Why?" Rodimus leaned back into the gentle pampering, smiling before asking curiously, "Who was that scary monster?"

"Oh, Roddy, he's not a scary monster," Tailgate reassured with a little sigh, rubbing the tense sparkling's arms in an attempt to sooth the tension from them. "He's just..." _I'd like him to be your daddy,_ "He's just a friend."

"But he looked mean, and he didn't say hi," Rodimus pouted.

Tailgate smiled with his eyes and leaned in to nuzzle the sparkling's adorable face, causing him to giggle so sweetly, "Yes, but you didn't say hi either, hmm?"

Rodimus giggled again and then pushed against his mommy's shoulders, pouting slightly at his words, "Buh... But..."

Tailgate chuckled and pulled him into a hug, "It's okay, sweet... Cyclonus is nice once you get to know him a little. Now... Are you still hungry?"

"No, I sleepy," Rodimus whispered sadly, hugging his mommy back, comforted by his words, "I can't sweep without you..."

Tailgate nearly wilted, sighing, "I know, Roddy... How bout I lay with you tonight? Does that sound good?"

Rodimus could only nod so eagerly. Tailgate nodded and closed the closet door, knowing that it wouldn't do any good when it came down to it, and scooted back, lying down on his side. Rodimus climbed in beside him and snuggled into his chest, burrowing into the warmth and comfort of his armor.

"I wuv you, mommy," he murmured.

Tailgate placed a servo on the back of his little helm, optics offflining as he pretended to rest, sadness and anticipation taking over his once eased state of mind, "I love you too, little one."

* * *

 

The closet door opened with a smooth slide; no doubt the ever so calm Cyclonus. Light poured into the closet followed by a few short footsteps and _shouting_. Lot's and lot's of shouting.

"Tailgate!" Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, and Perceptor? The minibot guessed as he quickly sat up, clutching the gasping red and orange sparkling against his chest. "What have you been doing?"

"Do you know the severities you have caused?!"

"We have been looking everywhere for Rodimus!"

"You lied to us!"

"Tailgate, this is unacceptable!"

"You idiot!"

It happened fast. Ratchet was shoving past him, ripping the sparkling from his arms and Tailgate let go in order of not hurting him.

"No," Tailgate said in horror, standing up to race back after his crying sparkling, "No, no don't hurt him! Please, don't take him away! Rodimus, Rodimus I'm coming! It's okay, it's okay, I'm here!"

Rodimus wailed and sobbed in the big, rough, unfamiliar red and white arms, "Mommy! Mommy, help, mommy!"

It was breaking his spark, "Ratchet, Ratchet please let me explain! Don't take him away."

In his burst of panic, Tailgate felt a large blue servo land on his shoulder, and he turned to look up at another disappointed, and despising face. "Tailgate, I believe we are overdue for a talk," Ultra Magnus said, voice far from anything calm.

... 

After the whole scene was over, Cyclonus stood in front of the closed door to his shared room. Ratchet and Perceptor were long since gone, carrying a howling baby Rodimus with them. Ultra Magnus had just left after giving the one responsible for this mess the most brutal lecture of a life time.

As red optics settled upon the berth on the far side of the room, Cyclonus couldn't help but to feel a touch of regret in his spark as he looked at Tailgate's emotionally beaten form lying curled up into a tiny ball on the edge of the berth, back facing him as he quietly sobbed. His cries were worse before Cyclonus had entered the room, but now they began to soften, go silent, as if Tailgate was just as a shamed with his tears as he was with his failure.

It was alarming, seeing the usually optimistic and joyful bot so broken down and... defeated. Even when Tailgate was on the very edge of dying, he still had the urge to seek comfort and spill all his feelings to anyone who was willing to listen. Now he just looked lost, completely and utterly lost, ignoring the cruel world as it had always ignored him.

Cyclonus had to wonder if what he did was for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll fix any errors later. Please tell me if you liked it so far!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who commented, you're all amazing! Thank you to those who give kudos, I'm glad you liked this story! And to those who view, thank you for giving it a shot!

Three days later.

Tailgate was sitting on the floor beside his berth, pressed between the space of it and the cold wall when Cyclonus came in. He didn't acknowledge him though, didn't have the strength to. Time had been lost to him now. He had forgotten how long he had been sitting there, how long he had been hurting, how long it had been since he last refueled or done anything that had to do with _living_.

Tailgate hadn't so much as mumbled a word since it happened, since Rodimus was taken away and he was left alone again. And he didn't dare to leave his room. No. By now the entire crew knew of the incident and the crime like case he committed. They probably thought him as stupid, sick, disrespectful and disgusting.

Is that what his life was to be like now? A mess of trying to obtain happiness only to get slapped back in the face for finally managing it? Were people going to keep belittling him and calling him harsh names? Was that his purpose? To be the ship's personal punching mechanism, to rot underneath everyone's higher command and order, to remember nothing but his old past, friends of his own who were dead now, millions of years gone.

He wasn't a machine of _war_ , but a machine of _heart_. He couldn't help it if he didn't fit in. 

And now, Tailgate felt as if his spark has finally been shattered, that the pieces inside his very soul were crushed underneath inhumane pressure. He didn't want to talk to anyone; he knew what they would say, and he didn't want to hear it right now. Ok, he knew that he was stupid, he was small and insignificant and dumb and an idiot. He knew, he knew, he knew. 

That's why he had tried to be something _more_.

Tailgate never meant any harm in trying to adopt Rodimus Prime, but... he was just so helpless and alone. The look baby Rodimus had first given him when he saw him wandering down the hall was a look of something special, something realized and desired. Just in the moment their blue optics made contact, Tailgate felt the urge to love and protect and care for baby Rodimus, even if he had no idea how he became little in the first place.

He hadn't meant to lie, hadn't meant to steal or hurt anyone.

"Tailgate," said the voice of the mech who he use to idealize.

Tailgate wondered what he was wanting him for. After all, he was just a no good, irresponsible, idiotic minibot, a habit of destruction and annoyance. What good was he to anyone?

"When was the last time that you have refueled?"

Oh, he didn't know, two, maybe _three_ days. Yeah, about three days since his massive bomb of failure went off. Why? Why did it matter? Tailgate wondered further without lifting his helm from the safety of his knees. Besides, he wouldn't want Cyclonus to melt by the sight of his ugly face.

...

Tailgate shrugged at his question, but Cyclonus already knew the answer. And it made him fret. Three days no fuel wasn't good for a bot Tailgate's size, especially since he had been giving it to a sparkling.

Cyclonus bowed his helm slightly, noticing the dry energon stains around Tailgate's wrists, servos and neck. He had been hurting himself. The horror struck Cyclonus. The little bot hadn't moved a smidge for over three days, hadn't said a word, hadn't shown his face or acknowledged his presence.

It was definitely unlike the always cheerful, always joyful Tailgate Cyclonus knew. Indulging the painful guilt and worry in his spark, Cyclonus turned and exited the room, the door closing quietly behind him. Leaving Tailgate alone again.

* * *

 

"My audios are going to beat my audios. Does that make any sense, or have I already gone insane?" Ratchet asked, palming his forehead and clutching at the table, looking over at an exhausted Perceptor holding a still wailing Rodimus Prime sparkling.

"You're probably just having a psychotic breakdown," Perceptor wilted, arms tired from trying to rock the sparkling back to sleep, "Like me."

"We need to find out how to reverse the side effects," Brainstorm said as he walked into the medbay, cringing faintly at the sparkling's harsh cries, "After, eh... We calm him down, of course."

" _Calm him down?_ " Ratchet smiled sarcastically, "It's been three days! I don't think he's even capable of being calm."

"We probably need to put him down under for a while," Preceptor admitted, looking sadly at the whimpering and shaking sparkling.

Brainstorm pointed unhappily at him, "But we need him to be awake so I can run a proper diagnostic."

"Maybe..." Preceptor looked down for a moment, hesitating before looking up at the real medic, "Maybe we should call him."

"Uhh, no," Ratchet said firmly, snapping his fingers, "Not gonna happen."

Perceptor gave him a look, "Ratchet, we _need_ someone to help calm Rodimus down. He might just be our only hope."

"But..." Ratchet was cut off by a series of-

"Mommy, ahh, mommy!" sobs, cries and wailing.

Perceptor looked completely finished and Brainstorm was obviously tired. Ratchet was too. "Fine..." He grumbled, accessing his commlink channel. 

... 

Megatron made it to the medical bay in about fifteen minutes, immediately grimacing in confusion at the sound of such bizarre crying. He looked at the very exhausted looking Perceptor sitting on the berth with a trembling sparkling in his arms, and the testy medic glaring at him from the console.

"I understand that you were, ahem... Rodimus Prime's romantic partner before..." Ratchet gestured to the sparkling, standing up straight and walking towards the x-decepticon.

Megatron nodded.

Ratchet cleared his throat, "As you may have heard about the incident, we have not yet been able to return Rodimus Prime back to normal, and as you can see, he isn't in any state of calming down and... And Perceptor wanted to see if maybe you could..."

"Calm him?" Megatron finished softly with a raised brow.

Ratchet wanted to punch him, shifting back on his peds, "Yeah... that."

Megatron nodded and began approaching the berth where Perceptor sat baby Rodimus down. The sparkling now lay on his back, holding his oily tear stained face within his tiny servos and crying. It was heartbreaking yet somehow very adorable.

When Megatron stopped upon the berth, he reached out with his big servo, confirming Ratchet's endless growled threats to be gentle with curt nods, and touched the sparkling's leg. "Rodimus..." He murmured softly, brushing the very tiny metal appendage, so soft and so fragile, "Rodimus, look at me."

Rodimus did, his shaky servos lowering to his mouth as he stared up at the grey giant and went silent. Everyone leaned forward. Had they finally found a break?

Rodimus looked up at the large grey giant, scanning over his rough yet gentle face, and feeling his soft touch... All before he started crying again. "Ahh! Mommy, mommy!" he sobbed and sniffed, covering his face and shaking back and forth like he thought he'd be hurt.

Megatron immediately withdrew his servo, holding it up to show he meant no harm. "What did you do, you idiotic grunt?!" Ratchet barked from behind.

Megatron ignored him. "He appears to be calling out for a mother figure," he announced as if analyzing the situation.

"Gee, I never noticed," Ratchet retorted snappily.

"Do you know who he is talking about?" Megatron asked, looking back at the medic with his stoic facade.

"Probably Tailgate," Perceptor admitted from the other side of the berth as he reached down to pick up the sparkling, "He was the one who had Rodimus in his custody all along."

"Then why didn't you bring him here?" Megatron simply asked, "Rodimus obviously seems to be calling him. Had you not considered that maybe his presence would calm him?"

Ratchet, Perceptor and Brainstorm all exchanged dumb and wondering glances. Brainstorm rubbed his neck in the awkward silence, "I told you we should have brought him..."

Ratchet hissed at him, "You never said that, you~"

"Ratchet," A new voice from the medical bay doors spoke, "I need to have a discussion with you about Tailgate... He's not refueled since..."

Megatron looked at Ratchet, and Ratchet silently cursed his somehow realistic look of worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Errors be errors and I'll fix em later! Please comment and tell me if you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever I'm unable to write for my other stories or if I get tired of all the angst, I come back here :) Thank you to those that have stuck along so far.

After going back to his room to fetch Tailgate, Cyclonus found himself having to carry the minibot back to the medical bay for he was concerningly offline at the moment. The purple mech hurried, unsure what would be the cause of the minibot's lost, unmoving state. He imagined that it must have been because of the alarmingly large amount of energon on the floor beneath Tailgate, obviously bled out by self conflicted wounds. A really big shame.

Whenever Cyclonus made it to the medical bay, Ratchet immediately caught his distress signal and rushed over to the minibot in his arms. At first it had been in the medic's intention to be rough and lecture Tailgate out, but after seeing his current position, even he felt the shame take over his spark.

"Get him over to the berth, but don't let Rodimus see. Primus knows this is the last thing he needs to witness," Ratchet said gruffly with a sigh, rubbing the back of his helm in distress.

Cyclonus obliged, carrying the minibot over to the berth and drawing the curtain, ignoring the sobbing cries thrown at his back by Rodimus saying, "Monster! Monster!" He laid Tailgate down and frowned at his broken figure; scratched, bruised face, torn wires and weakened systems. He looked like something out of the junkyards of Kaon.

Ratchet came in shortly after telling Perceptor to take Rodimus to another room while he worked on fixing Tailgate. He sighed, exhausted after days of ineffective research and testing trying to get their captain back, and now he had to live with the shame of knowing he had been part of the cause of an autobot hurting himself. It wasn't like he was too easy on the minibot either....

Gazing at the purple mech, Ratchet sighed again and asked, "Has he been refueling?"

"No. Tailgate hasn't refueled since it happened," Cyclonus answered in his dark, cold voice.

Ratchet used a scanner to check for damages, shaking his head after reading the results. "Oh, Tailgate..." He sighed out disappointedly, "What have you done to yourself?"

Tailgate was offline due to lack of sufficient energon storage. Some of his main energon lines had been torn open along with delicate circuitry and wires. Ratchet knew it was to induce forced recharge. Any mech could survive a couple weeks on a full ration of energon, but not the ones who were wounded or had already been giving their energon to a sparkling.

Ratchet's throat was almost scratchy from the sighs as he got set to working on the minibot, fixing his energon lines and repairing wires. He gave him some extra fuel, sweetened to dull the usually strong taste of the ship's natural high grade, and made sure that he was picture clean for the rivalry.

* * *

 

As Tailgate began to wake up, he groaned, his head slightly dizzy as he came to his senses. "Mommy!" he jerked, hearing a very loud and familiar squeak. He jerked again and gasped when something crawled on top of him, almost jumping on his chassis.

"Mommy!" the voice cried again, sad and ecstatically happy, "I miss you so much, mommy! Those other bots so mean! I so happy to see you!"

"R-Rodimus?" Tailgate whispered, his optics going wide as he registered the tiny orange arms wrapped around his neck, and the soft cries of relief against his chest. He smiled wobbly behind his mask, relief and joy rushing to his spark as he hugged his sparkling back and said happily, tears in his optics, "Rodimus! My sweet little Rodimus, I've missed you so much!"

If this was a dream, if he had finally fallen into the well, then please... please let him stay.

"I miss you too, mommy," Rodimus snuggled into his mommy's chassis and sniffled, "Dose bots are so mean. Dey monsters...."

...

"Umm... Did he talk that much before?" Perceptor asked quietly to Ratchet behind the curtain, pointing to the two just on the other side.

Ratchet scuffed, " _Mean? Monsters?_ Why, I never..." He crossed his arms unhappily and snooted.

Brainstorm chuckled at them, "At least he's finally calming down now."

...

"Oh Rodimus," Tailgate sat up, holding his sparkling close to his chest and rocking him, just so relieved and so happy, "I'm so sorry I've been gone, but I'm here now, I'm here and I'll never let you go again... I promise."

"Don't give your hopes up too soon," Said a voice that Tailgate didn't want to recognize.

The minibot tensed and looked up, frowning when he saw the ship's medic coming in through the curtain. Despite his joy, he didn't say anything, afraid that Ratchet would just end up taking Rodimus away again, leaving him brutally hurt. He simply hugged Rodimus tight and pressed an invisible kiss to his helm, trying not to look too far into the approaching dismay.

Ratchet could sense that Tailgate was obviously hurting and nervous, so he didn't voice his previous thoughts from earlier. Instead, he walked around the edge of the berth, frowning by how Tailgate flinched and remained uncomfortably silent. Making a grunting noise, he sat down in the chair beside the berth and brought his servos together.

"Rodimus really likes you," he admitted softly.

Tailgate looked at the medic, still stiff as he hesitantly nodded back. Rodimus tapped his chassis and looked up at him with his big baby blues, "Hungry, momma."

Still looking at the medic, Tailgate only then gave his attention to his sparkling when Ratchet gave him a quiet nod. "Here you go, sweet," Tailgate whispered and opened his chest plate.

Rodimus gasped excitedly and instantly went in for a presented tube. Letting out a small groan at the refreshing, familiar taste of his mommy's energon. Tailgate closed his optics and savored the moment as calmly as he could, hugging the sparkling in his lap close as he took in fuel.

"We had been feeding him through a syringe, but... Rodimus doesn't like needles," Ratchet spoke softly as he watched how comfortably Rodimus drank from his so called mommy, "So I added some sweeteners to your fuel to help ease his systems and yours."

Tailgate looked at the medic and tilted his helm, hesitantly asking a small, "Why?"

"Rodimus won't stay calm or refuel without being in your presence, and in order of running proper tests, we need him to be online and sated," Ratchet explained.

So they still planned on turning him back. Tailgate slumped. Why couldn't they just let him keep Rodimus? He could take care of him, raise him and teach him. He could be like a new mech, one that didn't have the hard shell left from the war. They already had Ultra Magnus and Megatron here to run the ship. Why not just... wait a while until their number one captain grew up?

Still too afraid to speak, Tailgate simply held Rodimus against his body, thinking about all the things that were wrong here. He couldn't have sparklings of his own. For the first time in his life he actually felt like something more than a hero to someone. He had purpose now. However, it'd all be taken away soon as they found out how to turn Rodimus back. Then it'd be back to the cold berth, empty smiles and hurtful rejections.

Thus being so caught up in his mental dismay, Tailgate was unaware that his silence and offline visor was troubling more than just his sparkling. "Mommy okay?"

Tailgate onlined his optics and gazed down at his sparkling, reaching up to gently cup the back of his helm and rub it affectionately. "I'm alright, Roddy," he said in a gentle, reassuring tone, watching as the sparkling pouted slightly, "I'm just so happy to be with you again. I missed you."

Rodimus whimpered and leaned forward, burying his face into his mommy's open chest, bathing in the comfort of his pulsing spark and warm internals. "I happy too, momma," he mumbled and nuzzled his chest, "I wuv you."

"I love you too, Roddy," Tailgate whispered, almost choking on his own words as tears filled his visor and spilled down the sides of his mask. He looked up into the afar and offlined his optics again, thanking Optimus Prime for this moment, for these words and this embrace. It took that painful edge of existence away and gave him a irresistible sense of purpose.

"Tailgate..." Ratchet said in a small sigh, his spark tingling in regret as he thought about all the things he had said to the minibot when they had first discovered the dilemma, "I wanna talk about the state of your condition when Cyclonus brought you here today."

Tailgate tensed, his optics creaking open slowly. Cyclonus brought him here? It wasn't necessarily surprising but definitely unexpected. Tailgate almost forgot about what he tried to do to himself before he woke up to his baby jumping in joy on him. Looking hesitantly at the medic, Tailgate winced at the look on his face, folding his servos more protectively around his sparkling.

Ratchet was just simply looking back, an exhausted, disappointed, regretful expression on his face. He looked tired, stressed, maybe even sad. His optics flickered to the ground for a moment as he sat up and ex-vented lowly. "I believe I owe you an apology," he said, his voice gruff yet somehow sounding very sincere.

An apology? Now that was unexpected. Tailgate felt the tears on his face become furthermore wet as he looked at the medic.

"I shouldn't have been so rough with you... I... I should have known you were only doing what you thought was best. It wasn't your intention to hurt anyone, especially Rodimus," Ratchet admitted more to the ground than Tailgate's sad, blue optics, but it was true, "If there's anyone to blame then it's Brainstorm for getting us all into this mess in the first place, but he's currently trying to find a way to fix it."

Ratchet looked up at the minibot and the still horribly sad look on his face. He felt his spark dragging heavily inside his chassis at the sight of the bot's repaired neck and wrists, his blue optics in which were still dim from shortened energon rations. He finally broke and just threw the question out in a low mumble, helm shaking, "Why'd you try to hurt yourself, Tailgate?"

"Momma hurt?" Rodimus asked, lifting his helm and looking up at his mother.

Tailgate shifted his hard stare to the sparkling in his lap and relaxed immediately. "No, no, mommas fine," he scooped his arms underneath Rodimus and lifted him further up against his chest, whispering, "I'm fine."

Rodimus whimpered, snuggling into his mommy's neck and wrapping his arms around him whenever he saw a terribly familiar red and white face. "M-monster! Monster, momma! Don't let him hurt me!" he cried loudly, snuggling deeper into his protector.

Tailgate was taken back by the sudden outburst, quickly reaching up to carefully pull Rodimus into his lap again. "It's alright, Roddy, it's alright. He's not a monster, alright? He's friend, see," Tailgate held out his mended wrist, "He helped me."

"He did?" Rodimus whispered, still scared as he looked from his mommy's repaired wrist to the other mech in the room, "He nice?"

"Yes, yes, he's very nice," Tailgate assured with smiling optics and a nod, "He just wants to help."

"But he was so mean to you..." Rodimus whimpered with a sad, angry snoot, "He a mean monster."

Tailgate wasn't sure whether he was flattered or regretful that Rodimus remembered that past dilemma. He definitely was a smart little thing. "He said he was sorry though," He said with the same gentle look in his optics, "And I forgave him."

Ratchet smiled sadly behind him.

"But..." Rodimus gazed from his mommy to the other mech.

Tailgate lifted him up in his arms and chuckled softly, "It's alright, Rodimus. He's nice. Wouldn't you like to know his name so you can be friends with him too?"

Rodimus went silent, his changing expressions seeming to speak for themselves. Obviously he was thinking it over in his head, debating whether or not it'd be a good idea to befriend someone who was mean to his mommy or not. He looked back and forth before finally nodding at his momma.

Tailgate nuzzled him fondly, "That's my Roddy. I'm so proud of you." Then he scooted around, turning blushing Rodimus so that he was sitting between his thighs on the berth, facing the medic.

"Rodimus, this is Ratchet, he's our ships medic," Tailgate explained happily, trying to encourage his sparkling into relaxing more.

"Hi...?" Rodimus said softly, shifting around nervously in his mommy's lap, holding his servo tightly like he thought the medic would reach out and tear him away again.

Ratchet smiled gently and leaned forward, saying as calmly as he could, "Hello Rodimus. How do you feel? Happy that your mommas back?"

"Mhm," Rodimus nodded his head, using Tailgate's servo to partially cover his face, still shifting around.

"You really missed him, huh?"

Again, Rodimus nodded and snuggled back into his mommy's chest, expressing further how much he loved to be in his embrace. "I wuv him more dan anything," he said and grinned up at his momma.

Tailgate smiled, tears dried up as he reached down and hugged his sparkling, taking time to simply enjoy the moment as it lasted. His spark was soaring again, and his processor felt warm. He missed his sparkling so so much. He was just happy to be with him now.

Ratchet let them have their moment, slipping past the curtain to talk to the rest of the group about what they should do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ratchet and Tailgate....? Interesting pair. *clicks pen and writes down ideas* I do this to myself all the time, don't worry, Tailgate and Cyclonus will stay as the ultimate pair here, at least in this story. Comments and kudos always appreciated and accepted!


End file.
